The Longevity Kitchen has become a new favorite cookbook. It's no surprise that I love a good cookbook and I order them often. But, this one, I hemmed and hawed about for awhile.
Why?
I'll be honest. I love cookbooks, but I am not a fan of diet books. I've read many in my lifetime and they often say the same thing: eat this, don't eat that; do this and you will be svelte. But, if that were true, the weight loss industry wouldn't be a billion-dollar industry. It should be simple - eat healthy and you'll be healthy. Somehow, this isn't always true. Don't we all know folks who eat crazy healthy and still have ails and others who eat processed franken-food every day and seem to be healthy as a herd of horses?
Still, I was willing to take a look.
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| Roasted Asparagus Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts |
This book had some intriguing elements. It's endorsed by Andrew Weil, a health-guru physician whose life purpose has become about teaching folks to eat, live, and be healthy to enjoy health and wellness; it's about lifestyle, not a quick fix; it never once mentions weight loss. This book mirrors Andrew Weil's motto: food is medicine. And what you put in does affect the machine.
The book begins with a nice foreword by Dr. Weil, followed by a short-and-sweet intro by the author. Some background, some reasoning, some life lessons that lead to a future in nutrition counseling. The next several chapters include an in-depth, but not overwhelming look at nutrition, the top 16 powerhouse foods, and a very generous introduction about how various body systems are affected by food. A definite favorite is the section on the culinary pharmacy and how specific foods, such as kale, walnuts, cabbage and cardamom interact and affect the body. A great definitive go-to A-Z listing of many top healing foods (well beyond the top 16). This is followed by a common ailments section where you can look up specific body issues such as stress, immunity, and flexibility and match them to healing recipes found in the book. Another great cross-reference section. The final intro section includes some great cooking tips about how to make food taste great. Let's be honest. No matter how much kale, spinach, or broccoli is good for you, people aren't going to make lasting changes if the food doesn't taste great. Some basic tips about fats, acids, sweet, and sour can make all the difference between success and abandonment.
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| Bella's Moroccan-Spiced Sweet Potato Salad |
From here, we jump right into the healing recipes: Magic Mineral Broth, Chicken Tortilla Soup, Southeast Asian Seafood Stew, Roasted Asparagus Salad with Arugula and Hazelnuts, Sweet-and-Sour Asian Cabbage and Kale, Sweet Potato and Zucchini Pancakes, Cauliflower Puree with Cumin and Lime, Roasted Halibut with Lime and Papaya and Avocado Salsa, Greek Chicken Salad, Mediterranean Kebabs, Sweet Potato Bars, Silk Road Spiced Walnuts, Curried Deviled Eggs, and many more, plus recipes for dressings, elixirs, tonics, and sweets. Yum.
I'm hooked.
There's not much in this book that I wouldn't make and eat. I find that when I eat this way, I feel great. I can go for longer periods of time between meals without any haze or drop in blood sugar and I crave the healthy stuff. Food does heal. We just have to give it a long-term chance and put down the Twinkie.
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| Finishing touch: Insanely Good Chocolate Brownies |
*This book was given to me by Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. I'm glad they did. I have found a new favorite.
